Tooth fracture frequency in gray wolves reflects prey availability.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Van Valkenburgh B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6759352 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Tooth fracture frequency in gray wolves reflects prey availability.
Van Valkenburgh Blaire B Peterson Rolf O RO Smith Douglas W DW Stahler Daniel R DR Vucetich John A JA
eLife 20190924
Exceptionally high rates of tooth fracture in large Pleistocene carnivorans imply intensified interspecific competition, given that tooth fracture rises with increased bone consumption, a behavior that likely occurs when prey are difficult to acquire. To assess the link between prey availability and dental attrition, we documented dental fracture rates over decades among three well-studied populations of extant gray wolves that differed in prey:predator ratio and levels of carcass utilization. W ...[more]
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